Local man wins Fantasy 5 again, with ticket from same store

Published: Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 6:34 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 6:34 p.m.

A Gainesville man is not only lucky in having hit his second Fantasy 5 lottery jackpot in two years. He’s also wise.

“I’m going to talk with my wife before deciding what to do with it,” the winner, who did not want to be identified, said Saturday.

The man bought the winning ticket, one of two in the state, at the same store where he bought his first winning ticket in February 2010 — the Stop ‘N’ Go Texaco at 1602 NE Waldo Road.

This weekend’s haul was about $115,000, nearly double the 2010 winning ticket worth $61,353. The second winning ticket for Friday’s Fantasy 5 was sold in Miami.

When the man brought his tickets back to the store to run through the computer, he said he had no idea he had won. The computer spit out a claim check with instructions to contact a lottery office — a sure sign of a big payout since claims above $600 cannot be cashed at a store.

Store manager Nita Thakker checked the winning numbers — 3-6-16-17-28 — and saw that they matched the man’s and let him know.

“He comes in here all of the time. He’s a longtime customer, and every day he plays,” she said.

The man said he spends about $100 a week playing lottery games.

“I have a system. I play a lot of my family births. I rotate my cards. Also, this store is the No. 1 lucky store in Gainesville as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “I felt lucky with this.”

The store has sold several winning tickets over the past few years.

Some of the money will go to his kids and grandkids, the man said. The dilemma for him and his wife: pay off their cars or sell their mobile home and buy a site-built home, as they have been wanting to do.

The man said he plans to continue playing the lottery and is aiming big — as in the multistate lottery that recently created a frenzy when it rose to $588 million.

<p>A Gainesville man is not only lucky in having hit his second Fantasy 5 lottery jackpot in two years. He's also wise.</p><p>“I'm going to talk with my wife before deciding what to do with it,” the winner, who did not want to be identified, said Saturday.</p><p>The man bought the winning ticket, one of two in the state, at the same store where he bought his first winning ticket in February 2010 — the Stop 'N' Go Texaco at 1602 NE Waldo Road.</p><p>This weekend's haul was about $115,000, nearly double the 2010 winning ticket worth $61,353. The second winning ticket for Friday's Fantasy 5 was sold in Miami.</p><p>When the man brought his tickets back to the store to run through the computer, he said he had no idea he had won. The computer spit out a claim check with instructions to contact a lottery office — a sure sign of a big payout since claims above $600 cannot be cashed at a store.</p><p>Store manager Nita Thakker checked the winning numbers — 3-6-16-17-28 — and saw that they matched the man's and let him know.</p><p>“He comes in here all of the time. He's a longtime customer, and every day he plays,” she said.</p><p>The man said he spends about $100 a week playing lottery games.</p><p>“I have a system. I play a lot of my family births. I rotate my cards. Also, this store is the No. 1 lucky store in Gainesville as far as I'm concerned,” he said. “I felt lucky with this.”</p><p>The store has sold several winning tickets over the past few years.</p><p>Some of the money will go to his kids and grandkids, the man said. The dilemma for him and his wife: pay off their cars or sell their mobile home and buy a site-built home, as they have been wanting to do.</p><p>The man said he plans to continue playing the lottery and is aiming big — as in the multistate lottery that recently created a frenzy when it rose to $588 million.</p><p>“I'm shooting for Powerball. That's what's next,” he said.</p>